1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for placing fabric between two frames to keep the fabric taut during embroidery. More specifically, the invention is an improved apparatus for aligning inner and outer frame halves and maintaining that alignment when the fabric support is repositioned. The invention also maintains a fixed center point for all circular outer frame of different sizes.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In preparation for embroidering a fabric article, such as a T-shirt, sweat shirt, jacket, etc., it is usually necessary to hold and tension the area to be embroidered within a frame which has an inner half and an outer half. The frame halves must be properly aligned with each other as well as with the area of the fabric to be embroidered. This has posed a problem in the prior art especially when the location or size of the embroidery varies.
Prior art inventions disclose a fixed outer frame half template centered under a reciprocating inner frame half template and fixed to a table structure. Typically, the outer frame half templates are circular recesses sized to contain an outer frame half. Different sized circular outer frame halves can be inserted in the recessed templates and centered by placing a spacer ring of the necessary thickness inside the recess. Another invention discloses the use of specially designed outer frame halves having opposing ears which fit within mounting brackets. The mounting brackets are adjustable within opposing slots in a work table to accommodate various sized circular outer frame halves. The outer frame halves are centered by manually securing the mounting brackets equal distances from the ends of the slots. Although these inventions accommodate and permit manual centering of various sized circular outer frame halves, the templates are integral with the table supporting the fabric article. Therefore, the fabric article itself must be positioned between the two templates, which makes accurate positioning difficult.
Another invention discloses a split work table the width of which can be adjusted as needed to snugly fit a garment, such as a shirt, to be embroidered. Once the table halves are split to properly fit the garment, the table can be moved laterally to position the area to be embroidered beneath the inner frame half. The positioning is made easier and more accurate by the fit of the garment on the table and an adjustable collar alignment member. The outer frame half is placed on the table beneath the garment without the use of a template so that various sized outer templates can be used. The outer frame half, however, must be manually aligned with the inner frame half template.
For mass production of embroidered articles of clothing, it is desirable to have a machine which can be set-up to quickly align the embroidered area on the machine with a minimum of manual alignment by the machine operator for a range of different types of clothing and positions of the areas of embroidering for the same clothing type. Minimal manual alignment is also desired when changing to frames of different sizes.